Mediterranean pasta salad

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 150 g pasta
• 300 g cherry tomatoes
• 3 tomatoes, dried
• 1 jar olives, black, small, possibly already sliced
• ½ cucumber(s)
• 1 onion(s)
• ½ iceberg lettuce or 1 lettuce heart
• 3 garlic cloves, at least
• 1 orange(s), alternatively orange juice
• 1 lemon(s), alternatively lemon juice
• 5 tbsp raspberry vinegar
• 10 tbsp olive oil
• salt and pepper
• lots of basil, fresh
• 1 tsp honey or maple syrup, optional

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Rest time approx. 2 hours; Cooking/baking time approx. 10 minutes; Total time approx. 2 hours 40 minutes

simple, vegetarian

Juice the orange and lemon. Finely chop the garlic cloves, pressing if necessary. Dice the onion. Mix with the raspberry vinegar and olive oil to make a dressing, season with pepper and salt. Add plenty of basil. If the dressing is too acidic, sweeten it slightly with honey or maple syrup (some oranges aren’t sweet enough). Halve the cherry tomatoes, finely slice the sun-dried tomatoes, and slice the cucumber. Let everything simmer in the dressing with the olives for a while. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in plenty of salted water until al dente. Add the drained, hot pasta to the dressing and let the salad sit for a few hours. Just before serving, cut the lettuce into strips and fold in.